When Ralf Schumacher announced his homosexuality on Instagram, introducing his partner, Étienne Bousquet-Cassagne, the networks were filled with applause and, at the same time, with curious glances directed at Cora Brinkmann. The German actress and model, married to the former professional Formula 1 driver between 2001 and 2015, then remained silent; an interview given to Der Spiegel has served to formalize the abrupt breaking of her silence: she has confessed that she felt great pain when she saw the announcement and that, in addition, she feels deeply deceived by the years they were together.
Brinkman’s words have been a real bombshell; the echo of his explosion has reached Michael Schumacher’s brother, who has decided to put aside the interviews and express his vision on social networks. “With all this back and forth, I would like to make it clear that Cora congratulated us in September (early October) 2023 because she thought we had gotten married. She was also happy. As you can see in this message addressed personally to Etienne,” he writes, attaching the screenshot of the aforementioned message that corroborates his words and, later, adding a nuance of forcefulness to his reply: “I think it is a shame for Etienne and for me that he spreads so many lies. We both just want to be left alone.”
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The conversation in question dates back to October 6 and begins with a message in which the model congratulates Schumacher’s partner. “Congratulations,” she writes, adding emoticons relating to an engagement, to which Etienne responds with a confused “What?” and several laughing emoticons. “I was told that you got married because you both wear rings on the right side… I’m very happy for both of you,” explains Brinkmann, who is unable to untangle the Frenchman’s confusion: “But in France it’s on the left hand… from the side of the heart. So…”; she makes another attempt to explain the obvious and points out that “Ralf is German,” but that “anyway, I’m happy for you guys,” with Etienne thanking her later for her words.
Brinkmann’s statements
The messages in the conversation and the statements to the German newspaper do not seem to belong to the same person. According to Brinkmann, her feelings were a mixture of pain, incomprehension and deception that have little or nothing to do with the joy she expresses in the screenshot shared by the former driver. “I wish Ralf had involved me or at least made me part of his decision, it would have been a sign of respect,” she told Der Spiegel, adding that “during his career in Formula 1, there were many rumours in the paddock” and that she asked him to clarify if it was true: “But he always denied it, telling me that I was imagining everything and that maybe he needed psychological help.”
Her harshest words come directly from the day she made it public. “When she announced it, it was like a stab in the heart. Coming out always affects those around you, including the ex-wife with whom you had a child. Today I feel used during the marriage. I feel like I wasted my best years,” she laments.
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This situation pushes Brinkamnn to reconsider a series of vital and, to a certain extent, nostalgic questions, the sum of which is nothing but the perfect portrait of confusion: “Was he honest with me? And there is something even more important that is on my mind: did he love me? I trusted him blindly and that is why his word was law for me.”
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